After enduring a season marred by one obstacle after another, Ronnie Bassett Jr.’s perseverance rewarded him with his first zMAX CARS Tour victory, albeit in unorthodox fashion.
Bassett was prepared to settle for a season-best third place performance in Saturday’s SoundGear Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway when Ryan Millington and Connor Hall tangled while battling for the lead. With Millington being penalized for wrecking Hall on the last lap, CARS Tour officials awarded Bassett the victory.
Bassett’s cathartic triumph capped off an eventful evening at Hickory encapsulated by hot tempers and intense on-track action. The CARS Pro Late Model Tour helped set the tone for the following Late Model Stock feature with Jimmy Renfrew Jr. prevailing for his maiden victory following a hectic battle to the finish.
Ronnie Bassett Jr.’s return to victory lane years in the making
There were plenty of emotions for Ronnie Bassett Jr. as he climbed out of his Late Model Stock to the jubilation of his crew, fans and fellow competitors.
Reaching victory lane was Bassett’s goal when he made the decision to return to his roots at the start of the 2023 season. Plenty of time and sacrifice went into making Bassett’s Throwback 276 victory a reality, who was both relieved and thrilled to celebrate the moment regardless of the circumstances.
“Honestly, I want to know what happened,” Bassett said. “I thought we had come across the line in third, but any way you can win one of these races is awesome. It shows we were in contention all night. We didn’t have the best car on the long run, but we fought hard and were there at the end.”
Bassett’s journey back to Late Model Stocks has been one filled with adversity. Among the obstacles Bassett has dealt with in his life include losing his ARCA Menards Series East equipment in a shop fire and not being able to qualify for NASCAR Xfinity Series events due to rules brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Refusing to give up on his dream, Bassett regrouped and focused on developing a race-winning Late Model Stock organization. He knew such a task would be difficult, but found some optimism in a debut CARS LMSC Tour campaign last year that saw him tally five top five finishes, including three straight third place runs.
Nothing about 2024 has been easy for Bassett, who was unable to qualify for Dominion Raceway earlier in the year. Bassett has endured many long nights in his quest to just celebrate another victory, but he found validation amidst his family and crew knowing the sacrifice was worth it.
“This is all on these guys, every one of them,” Bassett said. “We’ve had a very stressful year and a half starting back [with] Late Model [Stock] racing, but we’re gradually getting better. I’m thankful to be here in victory lane.”
Connor Hall denied victory on last lap, still settles for third
A potential victory for Connor Hall in Saturday’s Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway ended with him having to think quick to salvage track position.
Hall found himself facing the wrong way after getting turned by Ryan Millington while battling him for the win on the last lap. He managed to obtain a third-place finish after Millington was penalized for the maneuver, but Hall was left pondering what could have been following a disappointing end to a strong night.
“We started on pole, tried to ride around and save a little bit and put ourselves in a good position,” Hall said. “We were fighting a little loose in, so when I turned under Millington, I was having a little trouble putting the power down. I thought we had the race won, but the fastest car doesn’t always win the race.”
Hall has spent the summer building plenty of momentum on several fronts. After emerging victorious in a three-wide photo finish at Langley Speedway, Hall backed that performance up by winning the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway, the opening leg of the Virginia Triple Crown.
Driving a car that honored Nelson Motorsports’ first Late Model Stock victory, Hall felt confident in his chances for a third CARS LMSC Tour Hickory triumph. He paced himself during the opening laps of the Throwback 276 so he could have enough tires to chase down Millington for the win.
Hard racing between the two resulted in neither one coming away with a checkered flag. Hall still came away from Hickory with the LMSC Tour points lead intact, yet he can not help but feel disappointed knowing how fast Nelson’s cars have been over the past several weeks.
“This is another tough one,” Hall said. “This is three in a row that have been pretty tough to swallow, but we’re going to keep putting ourselves in a position to succeed. Hopefully a win will fall our way pretty soon.”
Jimmy Renfrew Jr. survives hectic finish for maiden PLM Tour victory
The final laps to the Throwback 276 CARS PLM Tour feature were among the most stressful of Jimmy Renfrew Jr.’s career.
Facing intense pressure from defending champion Caden Kvapil and Conner Jones, Renfrew had to hang onto his No. 00 Toyota while battling for the lead. Contact between Jones and Kvapil provided Renfrew an opening to slip past both and park in zMAX CARS Tour victory lane for the first time.
“Sometimes you don’t have to have the best car, you have to be the least of an idiot,” Renfrew said. “Those guys started racing each other pretty hard and I knew I would have a chance when I got in there the first time. Got used up, but it was all fair. If I got the opportunity again, I would take it for sure.”
A native of Hooksett, New Hampshire, Renfrew has enjoyed plenty of success on short tracks, having accumulated three victories on the ACT Late Model Tour. The end of 2023 saw Renfrew make his PLM Tour at Caraway Speedway, where he managed to bring home a solid third place finish.
Partnering up with Donnie Wilson Motorsports cemented Renfrew as a favorite for the 2024 PLM Tour title, yet the results initially proved to be mixed for him. He opened the year with a runner-up finish at Southern National Motorsports Park but had yet to replicate or exceed that performance prior to arriving at Hickory Motor Speedway this weekend.
Renfrew believes he made a statement in multiple regards by griding out his win against Jones and Kvapil. Not only does Renfrew think he can make a run at the PLM Tour championship, but he is confident that performance highlighted his capabilities as a driver in tense situations.
“I come out here every week trying to show everybody in the stands and the higher-ups that you don’t have to have the best car, you just have to be a good race car driver,” Renfrew said. “If you drive that thing hard enough, you’ll get there eventually. This has been a long-time coming and I can’t wait to celebrate with these guys.”
There will be little time to rest for zMAX CARS Tour competitors following the SoundGear Throwback 276, as they will make a short trip up north for their rescheduled date at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The Reverend 100 for the PLM Tour and the Window World 125 for the LMSC Tour will both be broadcasted live on FloRacing.
For more information on the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on X (formerly known as Twitter) and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour. Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC, at 704-662-9212.
LMSC Results:
1. 14 Ronnie Bassett Jr.
2. 6 Bobby McCarty
3. 17 Connor Hall
4. 23 Kade Brown
5. 5 Brenden Queen
6. 72 Treyten Lapcevich
7. 81 Mini Tyrrell
8. 28 Connor Zilisch
9. 62 Josh Berry
10. 71 Katie Hettinger
11. 37 Landon Huffman
12. 95 Jacob Heafner
13. 9 Brandon Jones
14. 15 Ryan Millington
15. 24 Cody Dempster -1
16. 55 Isabella Robusto -1
17. 8 Carson Kvapil -1
18. 54 Michael Fose -1
19. 29 Brent Crews -2
20. 51 Mason Diaz – OUT
21. 3 Buddy Isles Jr. – OUT
22. 2 Brandon Pierce – OUT
23. 1 Andrew Grady -OUT
24. 19 Graham Hollar – OUT
25. 40 Conner Jones – OUT
26. 08 Deac McCaskill – OUT
PLM Results:
1. 00 Jimmy Renfrew Jr.
2. 44 Conner Jones
3. 46 Jonathan Shafer
4. 35 Caden Kvapil
5. 24 Jake Bollman
6. 55 George Phillips
7. 96 T.J. DeCaire
8. 51 Kaden Honeycutt
9. 18 Cameron Clifford
10. 15s Brett Suggs
11. 6h Hudson Bulger
12. 29d Spencer Davis
13. 5 Aiden King
14. 97 Dylan Garner
15. 6 Tristan McKee
16. 76 Tyler Johnson
17. 1x Michael Toner
18. 29 Nick Loden – OUT
19. 43h Joshua Horniman – OUT
Note: All results are unofficial
